STOCKTON - Thousands gathered in cold, rainy conditions Saturday to celebrate the holiday season as the festive glow of Christmas lights brightened a gloomy evening at the Weber Point Events Center.

For many in Stockton, the city's annual tree-lighting ceremony and lighted-boat parade is a family tradition passed down from one generation to the next. Andrea Perez is a Stockton resident who attended the event with friends Victory and Melissa Fernandez and her children, Jaylene, 4, and Jordan, 7.

"We come out to watch the tree lighting and the boats every year with the kids, even when it's cold," Perez said. "The kids have been waiting for this. It's a family thing that we can do together."

Perez's son, Jordan, said he most enjoys "the colors" and "the family time."

City Councilman Elbert Holman said he was honored to perform the tree-lighting ceremony. Holman addressed 80 to 100 people gathered in the plaza before lighting the 35-foot Christmas tree, saying the tree symbolized more than the holidays in a city rocked by bankruptcy and record murder rates.

"It's a beautiful tree, and I look at it as a symbol of hope, a symbol of peace, a symbol of prosperity for our city," Holman said. "Having all the citizens around, I think it's a sign of unity for our city as we continue to move forward. We're going to get better, and I think this is a symbol of that."

The tree-lighting ceremony was followed by the Marina West Yacht Club's 33rd annual Delta Reflections lighted-boat parade. The parade featured dozens of boats of all sizes decorated with Christmas lights and other adornments.

"I always like to see how they decorate the boats," Victor Fernandez said. "Lots of times they have Santa Claus or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Some of them have music. You get to watch them and see which ones you like the most."